Most people in our world are familiar with the typical AK style rifle in one way or another. Even if you have no firearms experience you have probably seen one in video games or in the news.
But a lot of people tend to mix things up when it comes to AK style rifles. So I am here to clear that up.
During his hospital stay after being wounded in the war the soviet tank commander Michail Kalashnikov ( Михаил Калашников ) was developing a new type of firearm made for mechanized infantry and after a few prototypes and test verisions the final product was presented to the red army:
AK-47
the AK-47 ( Avtomat Kalachnikova - 47, Автомат Калашникова - 47 ) was a milled reciever assault rifle which fired the intermediate 7.62x39 mm cartridge. the rifle was built to have a simple mechanism which would work under very harsh conditions and bad weather. The red army adopted the rifle and quickly started to produce it.
The firearm was first used in battle during the korean war ( 1950-1953 ) when North Korean forces were supplied war material from the Soviet union.
But as with most things the AK-47 had a major flaw in a form of its milled reciever which was expensive to produce and made the rifle heavy to carry. In 1959 the red army decided to modernize and upgrade the rifle to make it more suitable for war. this new modernized verision was named:
AKM
The AKM is the rifle that many people today see as the AK-47. This is the rifle that is seen all over news reports, youtube videos and video games. The AKM was now equipped with a stamped sheet metal reciever and a different front sight post as seen on the picture below. Tha stamped reciever was much cheaper, faster and easier to manufacture and it also made the rifle lighter to carry. The changes didn't affect the rifles performance in any visual way.
Many different verisions of the rifle was produced and each with their own field of use. Such as the RPK Light Machine Gun which was equipped with a longer barrel and a bipod to be used as a light machine gun or the AKMS which was fitted with an underfolding stock to make a more compact firearm for paratroopers and tank crews.
Since the Soviet union was the head over the Warsaw pact a rule was passed and all east block countries had to adopt the AKM rifle. This caused almost all Warsaw pact countries during the cold war, Such as Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Poland, to produce their own verision of the rifle and many other countries such as China and Yugoslavia followed suit.
The AKM was also a token firearm during the Vietnam war as the Soviet union supplied the NVA and FNL with AKM rifles. Even US soldiers would sometimes use the rifle after looting it from a dead enemy.
In 1974 the red army decided to replace the old 7.62x39 cartridge for something more modern and easier to handle. The AK was once again rebuilt. This time to make it compatible with the new 5.45x39 mm cartridge and by sheer coincidence the new rifle was called:
AK-74
The AK-74 replaced the old AKM in both the Soviet union and their sattelite stated such as Bulgaria, DDR ( East Germany ) and Romania. The AK-74 was also combat tested during the Soviet-Afghan war ( 1979-1989 ). The most distinct difference between the AKM and the AK-74 is the muzzle brake and the shape of the magazine.
A variant of the firearm called the AKS-74U, which is a compact, short-barreled version with a folding stock meant for helicopter pilots, became a huge status symbol among the Afghan fighters.
After a few years in the service of the red army it was time for yet another upgrade. In 1991, only two months before the Soviet union collapsed the AK-74 was upgraded into the AK-74M which was the exact same firearm, only with polymer stock and frontgrip instead of wooden parts.
In 2012 a new rifle was introduced by the name of the AK-12, which is a even more modern rifle equipped with modern piccatinny rails and is often presented with a desert paintjob.
Rumors that the original AK-47 was copied from the German ww2 STG-44 do exist. However no proof has been found and Michail Kalashnikov himself stated that the similarities is just a coincidence
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